


Required Reading

by HarleyJQuin



Series: Trope Bingo 2020 [10]
Category: Marvel, Norse Religion & Lore, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: BAMF Stiles, Kitsune Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Werewolf James "Bucky" Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:07:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25778650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarleyJQuin/pseuds/HarleyJQuin
Summary: Steve cleared his throat from the doorway and he said, “Buck, it may have been seventy years since I last saw you but you are still the one person in the world I will always trust without question. If you say something’s up then something is up.”
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: Trope Bingo 2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774528
Comments: 79
Kudos: 601
Collections: Just Write! Trope Bingo





	Required Reading

**Author's Note:**

> Trope Bingo: Epic Friendship

James took Steve up to the living room and pulled him down into one of the many sofas, they sat and just enjoyed each others company, he had missed this, just being able to snuggle up to Steve for hours at a time before things got complicated. Even when they were with the Howlies he craved the times they could just sit and talk or even just sit and enjoy the silence together. Half an hour later James heard Steve’s stomach start to protest, loudly. James stood and he asked, “You hungry?”

Steve nodded as he pulled a cushion in to snuggle and he settled deeper into the sofa. It had been a long day with a lot of revelations and he just wanted to sleep. He looked up as a redhead on 4” heels entered the room just as James was about to leave.

Lydia said, “Sit James, we need to debrief. I have sent the twins to get you both something to eat before they take some food down to the cells.”

James nodded and he sat beside his old friend. “So what’s going on?” He asked quietly.

Lydia looked down at her tablet and she tapped it a few times to bring up the right data. “So Danny has been digging into S.H.I.E.L.D with help from JARVIS and he has found some worrying information about their plans for you, Captain Rogers. Peter has already been reading through Steve’s contracts they have in the system to check for their legality while he was waiting for Noah at the station. He will discuss these with the captain after he has had a decent sleep.”

James glanced at Steve who asked, “Peter is your lawyer?”

“Yep,” James agreed, “He works with as a consultant with David Whittemore in the D.A. office part-time and does the pack legal work the rest of the time. He is vicious to those who have crossed the pack.”

Steve frowned and he asked, “Pack?”

James’ eyes widened as Lydia said, “Another thing to discuss once you have had some sleep.”

Ethan entered the living room with a couple of plates piled with high energy food and he placed them in front of the two super soldiers on the coffee table.

James smiled, “Thanks, Ethan.” He nudged Steve, “Eat, you will need the calories to heal from the injuries you received today.”

Steve wordlessly picked up the plate in front of him and he started to quietly eat as Lydia continued her report. “Stiles has taken Loki upstairs to sleep. It would appear he had been under the Titan’s mind control for longer than anyone realized. The boys are going to check to make sure there are no traces of the magic involved in the morning.

When Steve looked like he was about to jump up James put his hand on Steve’s arm to halt his progress and Lydia glared at him until he sat back and continued eating.

She cleared her throat and reported, ”The deputies are working extra shifts as the town is a bit nervous about the possibility of more aliens.” Lydia stated, “JARVIS has let Dr. Stark and Ms. Potts know so they can look into doing a press release to mitigate some of the fear. S.H.I.E.L.D have really dropped the ball and they are refusing to comment while they look for Loki.”

Steve asked, “Do you know what’s happening with the Tesseract and the Sceptre?”

Lydia tapped through her tablet and she saw a new message, “JARVIS is reporting that Thor has the Tesseract and S.H.I.E.L.D have the Sceptre. Thor is in discussions with Director Fury to claim the Sceptre as evidence in Loki’s misdeeds.”

She held up her hand to halt James’ protests as she said, “I know. Don’t bite the messenger. I have Aiden working on gathering the proof that Loki was brain jacked like Agent Barton and Dr. Selvig.” 

Steve frowned at the unusual phrasing but he dismissed it due to tiredness. “Will JARVIS update you when it’s decided?”

Lydia nodded, “Either me or Stiles at this stage. JARVIS is currently training an A.I that we will be installing in the pack house to help us with further Hydra investigations. Danny is working with JARVIS on what FRIDAY will need to get her installed and up and running asap.”

James asked, “She’s going into the war room? Or throughout the whole house?”

Lydia sighed, “I don't know, my preference would be through the whole house but from what I understand that will require a large remodel to get her camera’s and speakers setup. We are going to talk to Derek and Stiles in the morning. Thankfully it’s a Saturday so no school.”

Steve raised his eyebrows and he asked, “School?”

Lydia smiled, “Most of the pack are still in high school. We are almost finished with our Junior year.”

James chuckled, “What she’s not saying is that half the pack could do their exit exams and graduate early, they just don’t want to. Had Danny had any sleep?”

Lydia shook her head, “Nope, I am about to shamelessly use Ethan to get him to go to bed. You should show the captain up to his room, we put him in the room beside yours. We put some clothes in there for him that should fit, if not he can steal from your closet until we can take him shopping. We are planning to do longer explanations and introductions tomorrow once everyone has rested.”

James stood and he pulled Steve to his feet, “Come on Stevie, you need some sleep. I promise we will talk more tomorrow.”

James took Steve up to the second floor where their rooms were. They shared their wing with the twins, Danny, Jackson, and occasionally Lydia when she stayed at the pack house.

James pointed out the various bedrooms and where the main bathroom for the floor was located. 

Steve asked, “Will you stay with me, please?”

James looked indecisive so Steve clarified, “Just to sleep. I don’t sleep well these days.”

James chuckled, “You spent seventy years as a popsicle, if you are like me you were likely aware for parts of it. I need to go do my patrol and make sure the others are getting some sleep. I will join you after that I promise. You need to rest though.”

Cora trotted into the room in her full shift form. James looked down and he asked, “You will guard him for me?” 

She nodded and with a quick eye flash she jumped onto the bed.

James said, “Cora will stand guard so you can get some sleep.” He saw Steve about to interrupt with a question and he held up his hand, “Tomorrow, I promise.”

Steve nodded and he grabbed a pair of sweats and a t-shirt from the dresser and he left to change in the bathroom.

James looked at Cora and he said, “Be careful, he’s had the first version of the super-soldier serum he will likely be stronger than me. If he starts to have a nightmare just get out of his way and come get me, ok.”

She rolled her eyes and nodded as she settled in for the night.

James left and he headed downstairs. He wanted to make sure that Danny had gone to bed before he talked to JARVIS some more. He wasn’t happy with the scowl that appeared on Steve’s face when Stark was invited to join them.

He started his checks in the basement and he carefully reset the runes on the cells now that they were cleared out. He then walked to the war room and he made sure Danny had gone to bed, “Aiden?” When he looked up from the files he was reading James asked, “Feel up to joining me on a perimeter run?”

Aiden nodded, “Sure, let me get my shoes and I will be right with you.”

They did a quick run around the perimeter of town until Aiden stopped them on the other side of town. 

He looked at the pensive look on James’ face and he asked, “What’s going on?”

James shrugged, “I was talking to JARVIS while waiting for Stiles to drop Loki in the cells and he said they woke Steve up two weeks ago. I am worried Hydra have started on the brainwashing already.”

Aiden frowned and he asked, “What makes you say that?”

James tried to put his jumbled thoughts into words, “His interactions with me were like I remember, but his actions toward Stark worried me. He sneered when Stark was talking with Stiles and JARVIS. Steve never sneered, ever, he was always the stereotypical Brooklyn boy. Full of snark and sass but never like that and it doesn’t make sense that he would be like that to Stark. He was friends with Howard, Tony’s dad for fucks sake.”

Aiden commented, “You know, in that footage from Germany the cap seemed cold towards Iron Man. He almost seemed disgruntled that Iron Man stepped in to help.”

James agreed and he pondered, “I wonder if JARVIS can help me dig up what data Steve was given about Tony. I know the report S.H.I.E.L.D wrote was a steaming pile of shit. Even JARVIS sounded disgusted with it which is impressive for an AI.”

Aiden chuckled, “He was created by Tony Stark, of course he will be impressive. I know he was enjoying his interactions with Danny earlier you could hear it in the tone of his voice. I look forward to meeting FRIDAY, JARVIS said she is essentially his younger sister and she will learn a lot of her human behaviors from the pack.”

James paled, “Oh god, she will be a complete asshole, just like you lot.”

Aiden laughed and he took off for the pack house. When James caught up to him he said, “You need to chat with JARVIS as soon as we get back to the house and figure out what Steve has been told so you can start the work on undoing it. Maybe if you can explain what you feel is wrong JARVIS can point you in the right direction.”

James agreed, “Hopefully we can fix it. That sneer was not a good look on Steve.”

James was still feeling wired when they arrived back at the house so he headed for the war room to have a chat with JARVIS as Aiden headed upstairs to go to bed. James found Stiles in the war room already chatting with JARVIS.

James scent marked Stiles as he called out, “Hey JARVIS. How is Mr. Stark doing?”

Stiles interrupted, “Dr. Stark, technically. He has three PhDs, Electrical Engineering, Physics, and Artificial Intelligence. He also has two master's degrees in psychology concentrating on human development and human behavior and a master's in business.”

James gaped at Stiles, “How? When? Where does he find the time.”

JARVIS explained, “Sir started at MIT when he was 14 and he only went home when he was ordered to by his father. While he was at MIT he had a very heavy course load to try and keep himself out of trouble. A bored Sir is a dangerous Sir.”

James filed away what JARVIS had inadvertently revealed about Howard as he chuckled, “He sounds like you Stiles.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, “At least I don’t play with explosives when I am bored. JARVIS do you have access to the video feeds from wherever Tony was before the portal opened?”

JARVIS confirmed, “I do,” He pulled up a folder on the main laptop Stiles was working from, “I have put all of Sir’s appearances in this folder until the Helicarrier lost communications by which stage Sir had already headed for New York. The files that have interactions with various Avengers team members are in their own folders. I believe the files you both are looking for are in the folder named SGR.”

Derek joined them bringing them all a hot chocolate drink before they settled in to watch through the videos all of them scowling as they played.

James stood and started pacing. “What the hell have they done. There is no way the Steve I remembered would treat someone like that. Especially not Howard’s son.”

Stiles asked, “JARVIS, what was Steve given by S.H.I.E.L.D about the other Avengers? I know there was the bogus report about how they wanted Iron Man but not Tony but they had to give him more than that.”

JARVIS pulled up a new folder on Stiles laptop, “They did, a very carefully curated series of videos from Sir’s public appearances that told the story of a rich playboy who never worked and spent most of his time drunk. Captain Rogers was also shown the senate committee hearing where they tried to claim his suit as government property without context.”

Derek shrewdly asked, “What else did they leave out?”

JARVIS sighed, “Nearly everything. Captain Rogers has been left woefully uninformed about the modern world.”

Stiles commented, “It’s clear they have gone out of their way to keep knowledge from him. It’s even in their files to not give him specifics even if asked directly.” He snorted, “Idiots.”

Derek asked James, “Is he likely to listen if we try and show him the truth?”

James shrugged, “He might listen to me if we show him evidence of what the Hydra agents buried in S.H.I.E.L.D did.”

Steve cleared his throat from the doorway and he said, “Buck, it may have been seventy years since I last saw you but you are still the one person in the world I will always trust without question. If you say something’s up then something is up.”

Derek asked, “You want us to leave you to explain, or do you want us here to help?”

JARVIS interrupted, “Sorry to interrupt but Sir is requesting Stiles’ help.”

Stiles asked, “What’s going on JARVIS?”

JARVIS explained, “Sir is requesting urgent sanctuary for Dr. Banner. He said a General Ross is claiming he is an asset of the US Army and he is demanding that Sir hand him over.”

“Fuck that.” Stiles exclaimed, “Is Dr. Stark in his lab?”

JARVIS answered, “No, but he is with Dr. Banner. Go to the lab I will direct you to them from there.”

Stiles leaned over and he gave Derek a quick kiss. “I will be back shortly. Should I bring Dr. Stark for storytime?”

Derek nodded, “Make the offer, if nothing else he will probably get an uninterrupted sleep here and he can join the pack when we explain everything in the morning.”

Stiles nodded and he vanished in front of them.

Steve frowned and he asked, “How can he do that?”

James smirked, “Magic. And before you ask, that will be part of tomorrow's storytime. Tonight I want to sort through what you have been told and correct some misconceptions with help from JARVIS.” He looked pensive as he looked at Steve and he asked, “Please call me James. I’m not… I prefer… Ummm.”

Derek saw James struggling to explain and he said, “His name was the first decision he was able to make for himself after being locked in his own head for seventy years by Hydra. He was only known as The Asset while he was held by Hydra. Assets didn’t need a name…”

Steve nodded in understanding, “I will try, you will have to let me know when I slip though. For me, it’s only been about three months since I last saw you. You were right with what you said before, I was aware for parts of my popsicle stage but it was like a dream, I wasn’t really conscious.”

James pulled him down on to the chair beside him at the large table they had set up in the war room. “Settle in punk, you got a lot to learn.”

-x-

Stiles landed in the lab at Stark Tower and he looked around, “JARVIS?”

JARVIS said, “Follow the lights and I will lead you to the main floor where they are having a coffee. Mr. Hale confirmed earlier that it was free from bugs and other surveillance.”

Stiles followed the lights through the tower up a few floors to the kitchen where the two doctors were talking quietly.

Tony stood, “Stiles. Good to see you, coffee?”

Stiles chuckled, “Yeah, that wouldn’t be a good idea, Dr. Stark.”

Tony interrupted, “Kid, call me Tony.”

Stiles smiled, “Thanks Tony, I have been asked to invite you both back to the pack house for sleep and then storytime. James, Steve, and Derek are going through the information we found in the S.H.I.E.L.D servers about Hyrda’s plans for Steve to replace the Winter Soldier.”

Tony gaped, “Seriously? How were they going to hide that?”

Stiles pulled up a photo of James in full Winter Soldier tactical gear complete with face mask and glasses and he flipped it around to show the two doctors. “It would be pretty easy for them when you consider what they had him wearing when he was out assassinating Hydra’s enemies.”

Tony asked, “The files you had JARVIS show me earlier mentioned trigger words. Is he safe from those?”

Stiles nodded as he explained, “We were able to go in with Derek’s alpha claws to remove the Winter Soldier programming.”

Bruce asked, “Alpha… claws?”

Stiles rounded on Tony and he demanded, “You didn’t tell him anything?”

Tony laughed, “How? What proof did I have? Now that you’re here you can show him.”

Stiles shook his head, “I’m not a wolf, I’m a fox, a kitsune if you want to be exact. We are a whole other ball of crazy.”

Bruce asked incredulously, “You are trying to tell me you are a kitsune and this Derek person is a what? A werewolf?”

Stiles shifted to his beta form complete with swirling silver eyes, fox ears, chrome teeth, and chrome claws which he held up so the doctors could both inspect them. He lisped, “Yes, exactly that. Our pack is made up of mostly werewolves, a few kitsunes, a werewolf/kanima hybrid, a supersoldier/werewolf hybrid, a couple of sparks, several humans and a god.”

Bruce and Tony gaped at Stiles so he continued, “Dr. Banner the Hale Pack would like to offer you sanctuary and legal help to keep you out of the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D, Hydra and the US Government.” 

He glanced over at Tony and he said, “Tony, are you going to join us? I am sure JARVIS can keep the tower secure overnight and if anything urgent comes up we can be back here in an instant.” 

Tony looked up at the camera in the corner of the room and he asked, “JARVIS?”

JARVIS confirmed, “I have locked down the tower, Sir. Might I suggest you take the Mark V with you just in case. I have it ready in the lab for you.”

Stiles turned to Bruce, “Dr. Banner, is there anything here you need to grab before we go?”

Bruce shook his head, “Call me Bruce, please. I have nothing here, what I did have is in my room on the helicarrier.”

Stiles offered, “We can sort you out with clothing in town tomorrow. Lydia will love the chance to go shopping.”

Bruce smiled hesitantly, “If you are sure.”

Stiles grinned, “Absolutely, we have accounts with a few of the stores in town, wolves go through a lot of clothes when they are training… Actually, they just go through a lot of clothes, especially the wolves who can go full shift.”

Tony led them through to the lab where he found a suitcase and a backpack waiting for him. He picked up the suitcase and shrugged the backpack on as he said, “I’m ready to go.”

Bruce asked, “So we are leaving from here?”

Stiles held his arms out and he said, “Grab hold please, Bruce, please follow Tony’s example he saw me leave earlier. I am going to take us to the living room of the pack house. It should be empty.”

Bruce and Tony glomped onto Stiles who held on to the pair of them and with a quick tug of his magic, they appeared in the empty living room of the pack house.

Bruce staggered back his eyes tinged a bit green and he gasped out, “How?”

Stiles wiggled his fingers and he snarked, “Magic. Right, let me show you guys somewhere to sleep. We have a few extra rooms on the same level as James and Steve so follow me.” 

He led them through the house to the rooms on the same floor as James. He checked that they were unoccupied and he said, “These will be your rooms whenever you are staying at the house, feel free to make yourselves at home in there. There should be some spare sweats in the drawers you can use as sleep pants. Get some sleep and I will make sure someone wakes you for breakfast in the morning. I plan to check our other guest to make sure the brain jacking is all gone before we get started on storytime.”

The doctors both nodded, Bruce was still shattered and Tony was looking exhausted, so much so he just dropped his bag and suitcase and fell face-first on the bed. Stiles shut their doors and he activated the soundproofing wards so they would get a decent night's sleep without having to worry about the pack thundering through he house waking them up.

Stiles made his way down to the war room and he asked, “So, what did I miss?”

Derek ticked off on his fingers as he said, “Cora went to bed after she delivered Captain Rogers, our other guest is finally asleep as is most of the pack, Jackson, and Lydia are on watch and Deputies Nero and West are reporting that things are finally quiet in town.”

James laughed as he added, “Steve wants to hit several people upside the head with his shield. I gave him the cliff notes about my time with Hydra. Then we deconstructed the absolute bullshit he was told about Dr. Stark. S.H.I.E.L.D basically implied that Tony did a basic degree at MIT then he has been riding on his father's coattails since he graduated. We have been taking him through what Tony has studied to have three PhDs as well as the other degrees he has.”

Steve commented, “JARVIS has been telling us about the innovations Tony has created over the years with Howard taking credit for a lot of them before Tony was old enough to escape.”

Stiles asked, “Nothing after that?”

Steve shook his head he said, “No, JARVIS seemed… reluctant to share.” 

Stiles snapped his fingers and he said, “Right, good, the rest can wait until Tony and Bruce are able to join us. That way we are all on the same page and JARVIS won’t feel like he is giving up his creator's secrets. I have put a note on the board so the pack knows we are meeting tomorrow morning after breakfast. Boyd, Isaac, and Cora are on breakfast duty.”

Stiles moved fast and he picked Derek up in a fireman’s carry and he ran out of the room with Derek protesting from his shoulder the entire way up to their bedroom.

Steve looked at James and he asked, “How?”

James stood and started to leave the room and he said, “Tomorrow.”

They walked up to Steve’s room together and snuggled in to sleep. 

-x-

They sight the Avengers were greeted with when they entered the living room the next morning was not what they had expected.

Loki was sitting on the sofa, looking like an average human in dark jeans and a green henley with Stiles beside him and it looked like Derek had his hand embedded in both of their spines.

Steve looked around the room and he noticed that Dr. Banner and Dr. Stark were both watching curiously but the few others in the room seemed to be ignoring them. He turned to James and he asked, “What is he doing?”

Peter looked up and he explained, “Derek and Stiles are checking that whatever the mind stone did to Loki is completely gone after the Hulk beat it out of him.”

Steve asked, “Is that how they helped you?”

James nodded, “Yes. They were able to lock away and then kill the Winter Soldier so I was safe from Hydra using the trigger words on me.” He looked up at Peter, “How much longer?”

Peter shrugged and no one else in the room seemed to know either.

James could smell the bacon cooking so he called out, “Come on you lot, it smells like breakfast is nearly ready. Who’s turn is it to set the table?”

The teens all looked at each other and Jackson and Ethan both ran ahead to the dining room to get the job done.

Peter looked at the Avengers and he said, “You all should go eat, food doesn’t last long around here.”

Bruce looked unsure, “You will be alright with him?”

Noah grinned as he entered the room. “Loki will be fine. Look, the guy you met that wasn’t Loki, that was mostly the Mad Titan who used the scepter to turn him into their own murdery meat puppet.”

The group followed James through to the dining room where there was a huge dining table set up surrounded by teenagers. James said, “Tuck in, it sounds like the team are still cooking so there will be plenty of food.”

They all started piling food on their plates following the example of the pack around them. James turned to the closest deputy, Adam Nero, who had just got in after a night shift and he asked, “Adam, any issues last night?”

Adam shook his head, “No, things calmed down after a while. Nathan stayed on shift for a bit longer to hand over to Parrish. Noah has juggled the shifts so there is at least one pack member on per shift.”

Lydia glared down the table, “Shush, no work talk at the table, you both know the rules.”

Tony whispered to Bruce, “She can never meet Pepper!”

Lydia gave him the side-eye and went back to her breakfast as conversation flowed around them. Tony and Bruce got into a discussion with Danny about getting FRIDAY installed and what would be involved in getting her installed throughout the house.

They all looked up when Derek and Noah entered the room with Loki almost supported between them. They lowered him to a chair and sat on either side of him.

James asked, “How bad?”

Stiles contemplated how to answer before he said, “Remember how your mind was orderly and the info from the winter soldier was neatly filed away so it was easy to absorb?”

James nodded, “Yeah, it was all very organized and tidy. It made it easy for us to find and destroy the triggers.”

Stiles chuckled, “So picture that but 10 times bigger and looking like a bomb hit it with grenades planted and waiting to go off.”

“Shit,” James cursed, “So the mind stone was still trying to influence him?”

Derek shrugged, “Trying yes, there were remnants of the mind stone’s magic but we were able to find and clear it all out.”

Tony asked, “What about others that were brain jacked by the scepter? Will they need to be checked?”

Loki said, “Most of them will be fine. The only two I would suggest testing are Dr. Selvig and Agent Barton. They are the only two with skills and clearance that the Mad Titan will want to keep. If they come into contact with the scepter the titan could take control again.”

Bruce asked, “How much control did he have?”

Loki sighed, “A lot, I had very little autonomy, I had very strict orders that were layered on top of pain conditioning. But wherever I could find a loophole I took it.”

James muttered, “Sounds familiar.”

Loki glanced at him and he filed the comment away for later as he continued, “My orders were to come to Midgard, steal the Tesseract and use it to build a portal so the Chitauri army could come through. If I was following the orders the way the Mad Titan intended I would have found a way to steal the Tesseract without notice before opening the portal somewhere deserted to let the entire army in before anyone on earth was aware. By being so blatant about the theft, needling those who stood as defenders, and choosing one of the world's biggest cities there was a high short term risk of civilian casualties but it was a calculated risk that the army could be stopped before the Mad Titan got what he wanted.”

James asked, “It looked like you were fighting his control when you were fighting with Thor on the balcony.”

Tony asked, “And when I was distracting you in the penthouse.”

Loki nodded, “It took the Hulk’s…” 

He tried to contemplate the right wording as Dr. Banner said, “Cognitive Recalibration, I think was the term Agent Romanoff used when she fixed Agent Barton.”

Loki chuckled, “That works, the hit to the head knocked the control loose and I was able to put up barriers to prevent the stone taking control again.”

Stiles elbowed Loki from his seat beside him and he said, “Eat Tata, you will need your energy to heal.”

Steve asked, “Tata?”

James explained, “It’s polish for Dad. Stiles already has a Dad, his first biological father in Noah who is either Dad or Daddio when he's being obnoxious, and his stepdad Peter who is Papa, Zombiewolf, or Creeperwolf, so his other biological dad, Loki is Tata.”

Steve asked, “That’s another thing for after breakfast right?”

James chuckled and he said, “Yup! Don’t worry, we will try and answer what we can.”

Stiles asked, “Where do we want to do this? In the war room?”

“Yes please,” Danny yelled as he left the room, “I am going to set up a laptop for JARVIS so he can join us.”

Stiles looked at Derek with his best puppy dog eyes until Derek relented, “Fine, you can eat in the war room this once.”

Everyone who was still eating scrambled to pick up their plates and carry them into the war room while everyone else took theirs to the kitchen. 

The war room was set up with a large square table that had power outlets installed on the top for laptops and monitors. There were also monitors set up on the walls of the room that could be linked up wirelessly. 

As everyone got settled Stiles set his plate to the side and he loaded in basic info about werewolves and packs and send it to the various monitors around the room. He called out, “For the newbies to the Hale Pack and the supernatural in general I have sent our induction info to the screens around the room.”

Loki sat down beside Stiles and he pushed his plate out of the way as he lay down on his arms. 

Stiles asked, “Still got a headache?”

Loki started to nod then he winced. Stiles saw Peter standing not far away and he asked, “Peter? Can you see if you are able to pull his pain?”

Peter held up his hand to a dubious Loki as if to ask for permission. Loki asked, “What do you mean ‘pull his pain’?”

Peter explained, “It’s something werewolves can do, they can take the pain from others which often helps the healing process. It works on humans and most supernatural creatures that I have tried it on. Even super soldiers. It’s worth a try to see if it works on you.”

Loki knew regular human painkillers wouldn’t work and he wasn’t sure if he could make the potion that would help, so he nodded in acquiescence. 

Peter put his hand gently on the back of Loki’s neck and they watched as the thick black lines started to flow up Peter’s arm. Stiles asked him, “Too much?”

Peter shook his head, “No different than an average were. And before you ask it’s because they can withstand more pain than the average human.”

He felt the pain start to lessen so he pulled his hand away, when Loki sat up he asked, “Better?”

Loki nodded as he sat up, Peter said, “I left a bit of the headache behind as I thought you might like to see it in action, if you hold out your hand I can pull the last of the pain so you can see it.”

Loki held up his hand and Peter grasped it and pulled the last of the headache pain and Loki gently felt the lines on Peter’s arm as he pulled the pain.

Loki looked up and he could see no extra pain on Peter’s face so he asked, “Where does the pain go?”

Peter shrugged, “We feel it for a few seconds then it is gone. The only time I have felt it was more than I could handle was multiple broken bones during a training accident when Talia threw our sister into a tree.”

Loki pondered, “I wonder if Fenrir is able to do this? It is not something he ever did before I hid him away from my father.”

Peter sat on Loki’s other side and he asked, “Noah said Fenrir is the one who bit one of my ancestors to make the first Hale alpha wolf.”

Loki nodded, “The Hales were kind enough to take him in when I needed to hide my remaining children. Odin killed Hel and stole away Sleipnir. Hel is now Lady Death and she rules over Helheim, while Sleipnir was cursed to remain in his horse form and remains as Odin’s steed to this day. I was able to hide Jörmungandr and Fenrir but Odin eventually found them.”

Peter asked, “Is this because of the prophecy around Ragnorok?”

Stiles coughed, ‘self-fulfilling’ into his hand as Loki nodded, “The prophecy states that my children will kill Odin and bring about the end of days for Asgard.”

Peter agreed with Stiles, “Maybe if he hadn’t locked them away they wouldn’t want him dead. We have been trying to find Jörmungandr but it looks like someone else found him first.”

Loki glared at Peter as he demanded, “Explain.”

Peter gestured to Stiles, “Stiles would be better, he has been leading the search for his brother.”

Stiles asked, “What?”

Peter leaned forward and he looked around Loki as he said, “You have been leading the hunt for Jörmungandr. Want to give your Tata an update?”

Stiles sighed, “Oh, well we found where Odin locked him up, but we were beaten there. We are still trying to figure out who took him and where he is now. The place looked pretty empty and abandoned.”

Loki slumped, “Damn. As far as I know, all the boys were cursed to remain in their animal forms by Odin. Jör would not have been easy to spirit away.”

Stiles agreed, “No, but by the look of the place he has been gone for years. Maybe JARVIS or FRIDAY might be able to help us with the search.” He looked up and saw that people had finally stopped looking at the screens on the wall, he called out, “Right you lot, now that you have read through the information, bring on the questions.”

Steve asked, “So Cora… Last night…?”

Cora waved from the other side of the table where she was talking quietly with the twins, “That was me. Derek, Peter, and I all have the ability to shift into a full wolf form. It’s a family thing.”

Tony asked, “You mentioned last night you have more than wolves in your pack.”

Stiles grinned and he repeated, “Our pack is made up of werewolves, a few kitsunes, a werewolf/kanima hybrid, a supersoldier/werewolf hybrid, a couple of sparks, several humans and a god.”

Steve whipped his head around to look at James, he asked, “You’re a werewolf?”

James shifted into his beta form and he let Steve feel the changes on his face. He said, “Yep, it was always my intention to take the bite after the war. Mom didn’t want the chance of me being discovered if I was captured. She had planned to bring you in on the secret and offer you the bite at the same time.”

Bruce asked, “You had the super-soldier serum before you fell from the train?”

James nodded, “The first time I was captured they injected the serum. I am not sure of the science around it but somehow even though it wasn’t activated I survived the fall from the train… mostly intact.”

Steve frowned and he asked, “Mostly?”

James stood and he took off his long-sleeved henley so Steve and the two scientists could see the metal arm that Hydra installed.”

Tony got up and he asked, “Can I touch?”

James chuckled, “Sure.” He held the arm out and flexed his arm so Tony could see the panels move and shift. He said, “I think Stiles still has the schematics loaded on a tablet somewhere.”

Derek explained, “We had to dig trackers and explosives out of it when he arrived.”

Tony asked, “You have had a prosthetic arm since you fell?”

James shook his head, “No, since they first sent me out as the Winter Soldier. The first few were clunky and damn heavy. This one I got about ten years ago and it’s had a few upgrades since they installed it.” He shrugged, “It works.”

Danny dug out one of the tablets that was in the drawers behind him and he passed it down the table to Tony.

Tony sat down with Bruce and they started going through the schematics. Tony murmured, “As much as I hate Hydra a small part of me wants to admire them for the beauty in the arm. If you didn’t know it was made of titanium you would think it was a real arm.”

Bruce agreed, “Even the musculature seems to be the same as a normal arm, even when he moves it the panels seem to flow to keep it realistic.”

Loki asked, “You were a super soldier like the Captain before you were bitten? Was there much of a change?”

James wriggled his hand in a so-so motion. “I didn’t have the same serum as Steve. What I was given was a Hydra knock off. We would have to do some sparing to see for sure but I gained a bit of strength and agility, my senses enhanced a bit more than what they were, especially my hearing.” 

Jackson said, “Don’t forget the night vision we get from our wolf eyes.”

James agreed, “That does come in handy.”

Loki asked, “You mentioned that pain conditioning sounded familiar. Is that what Hydra did to you after you fell from the train?”

James nodded, “They spent years training me to be the Winter Soldier, pain conditioning was the least of it.”

Loki asked, “And you weren’t the only one in the pack to have been used this way?”

Jackson said, “When I was bitten I didn’t turn into a werewolf. I first changed to a Kanima.”

Loki asked, “Lizard or big cat?”

Jackson let his tail out as he said, “Vengeance lizard. I have slowly trained up my ability to use the tail and claws. I haven’t managed the full kanima shift but we are working on it.”

Loki asked, “So you had a master who was using you as a puppet, like myself and James.”

Jackson nodded, “Unlike you two though, I only have a few memories of the attacks I was used in, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned.”

Stiles said, “Between good therapy and help from Jackson we helped James through his brainwashing and we will do the same for you, Tata. If you want it.”

Loki nodded, “It sounds like a good idea Mischief.”

Bruce asked, “So can you tell me about Stiles and how he has magic?”

Stiles laughed, “I have two different types of magic I can access. So Loki as you know is from Asgard, sort of. He’s actually from Jotunheim but that’s a longer story, but part of that is he is able to bear children due to his magic.”

Bruce looked contemplative as he asked, “So you get magic from both of your fathers? I didn’t think we had magic on earth.”

Stiles clarified, “My dad, Noah is a spark, that's a kind of magic user that works on belief. There are a few types of magic users on earth with sparks being near the top end of the power levels.”

Bruce asked, “So we need to hide you from Thor?”

Loki and Stiles both nodded, Loki explained, “He would tell Odin if he finds out, and Odin wouldn’t hesitate to send warriors to capture and imprison Stiles for the crime of being my child.”

“I agree with Stiles,” Tony huffed, “By imprisoning your children he has basically created a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Stiles looked for a distraction and he saw the bogus report on the table so he asked, “Tony, what was with that bullshit S.H.I.E.L.D called a profile?”

Noah was about to call out language before he looked at Tony and he said, “Language aside, I would like to know too. Who wrote it?”

Tony shrugged, “As far as I can tell it was Natashalie with edits from Fury.”

Steve asked, “Natashalie?”

JARVIS explained, “Natasha Romanov also used the name Natalie Rushman when she infiltrated Stark Industries to work as Pepper Potts assistant. We are still trying to clean up after her time with us as she was not an authorized notary.”

Stiles chuckled, “Nice way to rile her if you call her that to her face.”

James held up a tablet with a photo of the Black Widow and he asked, “Her?”

Tony and Steve both nodded in agreement. James said, “She’s a Hydra assassin. She is definitely not trained for profiling, she and her sisters in the Red Room were only trained to be honey traps and assassins. It’s certainly not something she had a talent for when I was training them.”

JARVIS said, “There were also mitigating circumstances that you will need to ask Sir about.”

Everyone turned to look at Tony who held his hands up in surrender. He snarked, “Fine, I was only dying for fucks sake.”

Peter asked, “She knew you were dying?”

Tony laughed, “She knew, everyone I have dealt with at S.H.I.E.L.D knew. They waited until the eleventh hour before handing over my father's research that had the cure.”

Stiles growled, “Assholes!”

Several voices shouted, “Language.”

Stiles shook his head, “No, they are assholes. That report was engineered to foster distrust from the others in the Avengers. And it worked.”

Derek added, “It also had a side dish of manipulating Tony into feeling like he had to contribute more to feel included.”

Loki asked, “Can I ask how you were dying?”

Tony looked hesitant so Lydia said, “If it helps we have privacy wards on the war room. Anything discussed in here can only be discussed with those in the room when it was discussed.”

Tony nodded and he tapped his chest which made an odd clink noise, “Ok, its a bit of a long story so… two years ago I was captured by the Ten Rings in Afghanistan. During the capture, I ended up with several shards of shrapnel in my chest making their way toward my heart. A doctor they were also holding captive, Ho Yinsen, did rudimentary surgery in the cave we were being held in to implant an electromagnet in my chest to keep the shards of shrapnel away from my heart. A giant magnet that was hooked up to a car battery, loads of fun during the frequent waterboarding.”

He paused when he saw the looks of horror from nearly everyone in the room. “It gets better, I promise. They wanted me to build a Jericho missile and gave me parts to build it. Instead, I built a basic miniature arc reactor and my first Iron Man suit. The suit helped me escape the caves three months later and once I was outside I blew the place. When I got home I replaced the basic arc reactor with one that was a bit more sturdy and powerful, the same reactor that powers my suits.”

Lydia asked, “So the reactor was poisoning you?”

Tony nodded, “Yes, it was powered by Palladium, which is highly toxic and causes severe heavy metal poisoning.”

Lydia asked, “Was?”

JARVIS explained, “Sir created a new element from his father’s notes which is more efficient and is non-toxic to the human body. I have sent photos of the collider he built to your tablet, Miss. Martin.”

Tony grouched, “I wanted to call it Badassium but the powers that be turned me down so it’s called Starkanium.”

Steve said, “One of the videos they showed me was of the Senate Hearing where you basically told them to go to hell.”

Tony grinned, “One of my better moments. Senator Stern has been trying to get his sticky fingers into my company for a long time. After I got back from Afghanistan I stopped all weapons productions and moved Stark Industries in different directions including clean energy and consumer electronics. The military were unimpressed as we had a reputation for reliable weapons. They decided they wanted the Iron Man armor and that hearing was me telling them not only no, but hell no, while I also used it to prove a point about Justin Hammer and his shady business practices.”

Aiden snorted, “A very fine point too.”

Tony looked at Steve and he said, “Look, like most people who grow up in the public eye I wear masks. Masks designed to protect me and project what people want to see, most of my image is based on what they remember from Howard.”

Danny interjected, “S.H.I.E.L.D used this to their advantage to try and get their own way when it came to the Avengers Initiative. From what we have found so far on their servers they expected Mr. Stark to pay for the Avengers as his way of being accepted on the team.”

Steve asked, “Pay how?”

Danny pulled up the files on his laptop and he sent them to the closest screen to Steve, with a gesture he explained, “They wanted him to house the Avengers in Stark Tower. He would have been expected to pay for all of your equipment and here is the kicker, they were planning to use him to pay for any and all damages done during Avengers missions.”

Danny looked at Tony with a pensive expression and he asked, “Dr. Stark, are you aware you fund approximately 40% of S.H.I.E.L.D’s operating costs? It was first signed off by Obadiah Stane after your parents died then recently by Virginia Potts.”

JARVIS agreed, “He’s right Sir. The payments appear to be well hidden and a full audit may be required to clean up what Mr. Stane has put in place during his tenure. I have sent the details Mr. Mahealani has found to your tablet.”

Tony picked up his tablet and he started to flick through the files as one of the teens snarked quietly, “Just how much of S.H.I.E.L.D is Hydra?”

After a lull in the conversation, Peter took Steve then Bruce up to his office as Tony and Bruce talked to various members of the pack. Peter had found the contract S.H.I.E.L.D had coerced Steve into signing just after he woke up and he explained it wasn’t actually worth the paper it was printed on as it left out most of what would be required for an employment contract. He offered to act as their lawyer to get them free and clear from both S.H.I.E.L.D and the government. As soon as Bruce entered the War room after he met with Peter, Lydia stood with Allison and they dragged him out for an afternoon of shopping.

James, however, was nervous as he approached Tony. He cleared his throat and he asked, “Can we talk. Privately?”

Tony nodded and he asked, “Sure, where?”

Stiles called out, “My office should be free.” He knew what James needed to talk about and that Tony would want the extra privacy.

James smiled slightly as he said, “Thanks kiddo.”

He escorted Tony up to the third floor and he found Stiles office and as he shut the door he activated the runes on the inside for both privacy and secrecy. Tony watched and he asked, “Runes right? What do they do?”

James pointed at the two he activated as he said, “Privacy, this creates a soundproof barrier in the walls so the sound won’t get in or out and secrecy, this means that what we discuss in here stays between us unless you or I give explicit permission otherwise.”

Tony sat in the love seat and he asked, “So what’s up Frosty.”

James raised his eyebrow and he asked, “Frosty?”

Tony laughed and he said, “Winter, Frosty… ya know.”

James sat in the chair on the other side of the coffee table and he said, “This is going to suck but I am going to rip the bandaid off. You know I was the Winter Soldier, an assassin sent in by Hydra for high-value targets.”

Tony asked nervously, “My parents?”

James nodded, “I’m sorry, Howard was transporting vials of an improved super-soldier serum that night and Hydra wanted it so The Asset was sent to retrieve the vials and kill anyone who witnessed him. I remember that it was recorded as there was a security camera that he shot out but we haven’t found the footage yet. They recorded a lot of the high-value targets they took out.”

Tony tilted his head and he asked, “So he wasn’t drunk?”

James shrugged, “To be honest, I don’t know. For most of the missions I have only been able to pull up basic memories, for most just the names and dates. The mission with your parents I can remember more because it was someone I knew, not that it mattered, no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t change the outcome.”

Tony asked quietly, “Was it obvious that they were killed?”

James grimaced and he nodded, “The Asset wasn’t someone you sent in if you wanted finesse. He was Hydra’s blunt instrument. So yeah it was obvious, I looked at articles about their deaths and I was surprised to see it labeled as a drink driving accident. There is no way, not without someone covering it up.”

Tony held up his hand and he said, “I need time to process this. Sorry.”

James shook his head and he said, “Don’t be. I just thought you should know from me in private before you found it in the files. Do you want me to get Stiles so he can take you back to the tower?”

Tony nodded, “Yes, please. I will meet him in my room downstairs.”

James deactivated the runes and escorted Tony down to his room before going down to let Stiles know he was needed for transport.

Stiles entered the room to find Tony sitting on the bed staring into space. He crouched down in front of the scientist and he asked quietly, “Are you ok?” 

Tony shook his head and he asked, “Did you know? Did you know Hydra had my parents killed?”

Stiles' face fell, “Fuck, no. James has been recording the details of the missions in a notebook that none of us will touch. He is still coming to terms with a lot of the missions that the Winter Soldier did.”

Tony looked up at the kid who seemed much older than his youthful appearance and he said, “Honestly the fact that they were killed instead of dead at the hands of my father’s drunk driving isn’t what has me messed up. It’s the fact that my godmother, Peggy Carter, someone trusted by my family, was the one to identify them and she had to be involved in the coverup.”

Stiles pat his knee as he stood and he said, “Whatever you need the pack will be here for you. JARVIS has all our numbers now and he and Danny seem to be becoming fast friends.”

Tony asked, “Can you take me back to the tower please, I need time to process and investigate.”

Stiles held his hand out to pull Tony up off the bed and he said, “Sure thing, grab your bags and I will take you back. Just know that we have adopted you and JARVIS and you are pack. If you need us just call, ok?”

Tony picked up his bags and he tried to smile, “Thanks, I promise I will get in touch and I will ask JARVIS to keep you all updated.”

Stiles wrapped him in a hug and teleported him to the lab at the Tower. He gave him a quick wave as he let go before teleporting back to the pack house. He found James and wrapped him up into a hug and he said, “Go have a nap with Steve. You need the snuggle time and I think after the information overload he has had today he will too.”

James grabbed Steve’s hand and he dragged him back up to his bedroom where they settled in for a sleep tangled up in each other. Steve murmured as he lay in James’ arms, “I missed this, when I was stuck in the ice I missed you most of all.” 

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on Tumblr: [HarleyJQuinWrites.tumblr.com](https://harleyjquinwrites.tumblr.com/)  
> Check it out for cast choices and other random oddities.


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